How To Treat Diamond-Blackfan Anemia

When an individual has bone marrow in their body that cannot produce a sufficient amount of red blood cells to replace the naturally dying red blood cells, they have a disorder called Diamond-Blackfan anemia. A defective ribosomal protein gene is what causes the development of Diamond-Blackfan anemia. This defective gene causes the organelles called ribosomes in the patient's cells to be unable to produce certain types of proteins needed for the formation of enough healthy red blood cells. Most individuals affected by this form of anemia experience symptoms such as fatigue, pale skin color, breathlessness, dyspnea, short stature, thumb defects, defects in the heart, neck abnormalities, face abnormalities, kidney defects, and head abnormalities. Diamond-Blackfan anemia is diagnosed with the use of blood tests, genetic testing, bone marrow biopsy, bone marrow aspiration, and physical examination.

Diamond-Blackfan anemia can be treated in several ways. Learn about them now.

Use Of Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids are a class of numerous powerful and potent medications utilized in the treatment of many different diseases. For a Diamond-Blackfan anemia patient, corticosteroid medications can help stimulate the body to produce more red blood cells. In the treatment of Diamond-Blackfan anemia, the goal is to keep the patient's hemoglobin at an acceptable value of approximately ten grams per deciliter by taking just enough of a corticosteroid. Initially, corticosteroids are prescribed to an individual affected by Diamond-Blackfan anemia for several weeks to see if the hemoglobin in their body increases. If the individual's hemoglobin levels do increase, the medication is then slowly titrated down in dosage. If their hemoglobin level drops too low, they may be prescribed a larger dose of corticosteroid medication that will be kept the same or slowly decreased once their hemoglobin levels have reached an adequate value. A patient treated with this method may grow resistant to its mechanism of action and require additional treatments.

Continue reading to reveal more options for treating Diamond-Blackfan anemia now.